The ID's were well made, as was the watch. "You've outdone yourself. Who made these for you?" No reason not to dig for more resources. Never knew when you would need a new identity. He gave Juniper a respectful nod as she handed everything over. "I did indeed, as well as my role in the Orchestra's board."

The old man didn't look at Juniper again, nodding firmly to Keith when he asked if they thought they were ready. He ignored their little interaction on the way out. It was just Keith feeling the need to exert control once more. He wouldn't be watching in any consequetial way.

As they may it out of earshot, the slow moving Simon spoke under his breath. "Keep looking forward. Have they looped you in on any plans to dispose of me?" That would tell him how much they trusted her, or rather, how little they feared her. That was important information. All of it was, really.

"This is our time to make plans ourselves. I talked him into this so that we could have a chance to talk. Don't look back at him, he will know we are talking about him."

The cane clacked against the floor as he walked, though he did not seem to lean on her at all, even though she was there.

"You... Don't recognize me, do you?"

A face and name immediately came to Keith's mind, though that didn't translate to his mouth. "Oh, I've got contacts all over the place, but a man's gotta keep his secrets close guarded, am I right?"

She did as instructed, keeping her eyes and chin forward as they walked. "Yeah..." She did look at him out of the corners of her eyes, "Eli.... Don't know what he had planned but he's super excited about whatever it is."

She was mildly surprised with the information he gave her. "You talked him into it? How?" She... she'd never considered that Keith was susceptible to being tricked into things. In her experience, it has always come across like he was one step ahead.

He caught her before she even started shifting to look back, warning her not to do so, "Sorry."

And then he asked her if she knew him and her mind was a whirl of confusion and trying to bring up ever face she had ever seen before.

The sweater, the glasses, the... power. The way he was wording the things he said.

....Oh@#$%.

Suddenly she knew and now she wanted to drop herself through a floor to escape.

".... sorry." Of course. Simon. The young man she had taken home and kissed, who had been flustered and nervous and had poured out his heart about the wife he lost and how much he loved her. It had made her uncomfortable for so many reasons, some she couldn't even understand yet, and the whole interaction had ended with her freaking out and yeeting him from her living room.

It wasn't lost on her how utterly pointless the yeeting had been considering he'd found out everything presumably anyway. "I shouldn't have panicked like that..."

More importantly, "Why are you old now, and how do you know my Uncle?"

Oh, good. That was enough to go odd of. It never hurt to make more connections these days, and Keith wasn't going to need any resources after Simon put his dead body into the ground and spat on his grave, so they would be looking for new customers anyway! Win/Win.

"Ah. He's a creative one, that Eli. Still, he overthinks things, and gets tunnel vision. I will be more than able to kill him when he tries." He patted her helping hand with his own as she asked how he'd talked Keith into something. "For that? Nothing special. I made a reasonable suggestion. They all know I am more intelligent than they are. Why else would he keep asking if I had any better ideas? Still, it mystifies me why they think they can get away with doublecrossing me." He sighed as he walked agonizingly slow with her.

"Oh well. It's not as if I didn't plan to kill them all in the first place. They deserve it, many times over."

He smiled when the realization of who he was hit. Like a ton of bricks. "It's okay. You actually surprised me. I know you did it before thinking about it. It seems as though you do that a lot. Quite an instinct you have."

A chuckle worked its way out of his mouth as she asked a very complicated question. "Well... I am old because I know a guy, and I know what Keith would expect when I walk through the door. And I know him because I taught him. That class ring all of those monsters wear... I was their teacher. One of them. A long time ago." Worst. Class. Ever.

"Do you have any more questions, or shall we start making a plan? I can only walk so slow, Juniper."

This was.. all waaaay above her pay grade. They were planning on double-crossing him, but he had already been planning on double-crossing them. It was almost enough to make her eyes cross.

"I just figured he thought he could get away with it because he always seems to... Like, he's only been to prison once. For three years. I don't think I've ever heard of him having been punished for anything before that."

She shot him a nervous smile. Yeah... neat instinct. Totally not a symptom of any of the massive issues she had, due almost entirely to Keith and her mom. She felt it was pretty just to blame her panic actions on those two.

Oh well. At least Simon didn't seem mad at her.

...Unless he was planning on killing her too, but... then why go to all the trouble of having her help him? Eh. Whatever. As long as her parents didn't end up at the bottom of the seat she could deal with whatever came further along down the road.

She did mildly react in surprise when he mentioned having been her uncle's teacher. Wow. That was... wow. That long huh? And he'd always been a waster of DNA and oxygen?

"No. I'm good. I don't know where to start with a plan though... This isn't something I'm used to dealing with."

"You can think that, but it might be better just to focus and try to understand it all. The last thing you want to be in these situations is lost." He was, of course, responding to her thoughts again. She might notice that... He almost had a tendency to speak more to her mind's words than her own. Case in point, he nodded at her statement about her uncle avoiding punishment.

"Hey, I'm giving you a free pass, here. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. I'm not mad." His expression shifted to incredulous as he pressed his lips together and leaned in. "Why would I want to kill you? Jesus, young lady, have you been paying attention?" He settled down after a moment, not wanting to draw attention to their conversation.

"And Yes.... He absolutely has... All of them. And they've only gotten more refined in their tastes and methods as time has gone by." They made it across the street, finally, and he made a show of stumbling a bit, and leaning on her some.

"Well... Do you know anyone that can help? Try to contact people. If you run into them, try to show off your collar... Anything to tell them something is off. The more people we can break of his influence the better. It doesn't work when people fear him... That's why he doesn't try to manipulate you anymore. He knows you are afraid."

He nodded a bit. "Anything you can smuggle in will help, too... I, for one, and placing a gun in the safety deposit box... They don't know that, but when you use your ability during the heist, I hope to hide it in you... you can do that, right?" He read her mind for the answer.

"When the time comes, we may not need it. I am certain I can defeat Eli in a direct confrontation." He spoke with utmost confidence. Still, even walking slow, they were starting to run low on time to talk during their journey.

Was she getting scolded? It felt like she was getting scolded, and that was... weird. Her mom scolded her all the time, don't get her wrong, but... never for actually having done something worthy of being scolded for.

Her mouth snapped shut with a quiet click and she briefly considered just talking in her head from then on, but that would look weird. Grandpa would just look crazy talking to himself.

"Sorry, I'll try harder."

She thought about what he had said. Try to contact people? "I mean, I know a lot of people." Saph, and X, and Blue popped to the forefront of her mind. Heck, Zek too. There were a lot of people she knew who she could contact, and she didn't try to hide Saph's offer to 'take care' of her problem. "I don't have my phone though. I left it at home because I didn't want him to have it," Too many contacts in there. "and he doesn't let me out of his sight. This is the first time since going to get sandwiches for all of you that he hasn't been here breathing down my neck."

She resisted the urge to reach up and fiddle with said collar just in case her Uncle could still see them.

"I'll keep an eye open for stuff." She'd have to hide it on her the normal way though, which was stressful. He'd be able to glean his answer from her pretty easily since she started thinking about it the moment he brought it up. Not that she would know that. "Yeah... Hurts a lot when stuff gets stuck in there but I'll probably live. I've done it before." She... wasn't sure how he was gonna get to it if the collar was still on though. She glanced at him in question as they approached the steps up to the bank.

"I know Keith almost always has a knife on him. Elie too. He cleans it often."

She reached out to grab the door handle and open it for both of them.

"Yes, I'm scolding you." He shook his head a bit, slipping a bit with his cane to make a bit of a slowdown understandable.

"It's better if we just talk. When you want to communicate with me with them around, just think it. I will find a way to reply."

He listened to her thoughts intently as she scrolled through her options for helpers. An older man, a young boy, and a fire man? Interesting options. Also a boy with a blue tongue. He nodded, however, when she said that she didn't have her phone. That made sense.
"Only try to reach out that way if you know you can get away with it. We can't risk him catching on. He'll ghost at the first sign of real danger. Damned coward." His eyes shot to her at the thought of the urge. "Yeah, I know... resist it. Hang in there."

He nodded at her statement about keeping an eye open. He couldn't ask for more. His expression soured a bit at her mention of storing things in her not being comfortable. He didn't seem to like the idea of causing her pain.

The steps of the bank were convenient, in that they would slow them down even more.

"Well, I'm hoping Eli chooses a gun for me... I can beat him with a knife, but it's more dangerous." That would probably seem like an odd statement. "If Keith asks, we were going over the game plan again." They were arriving at the bank doors.

Any second now, a neatly dressed lady would be waving them in and asking about their appointment. Bette not to disappoint.

Odd statement indeed. She shot him an odd look to go along with it.

"He will. He's always paranoid that I'm plotting against him." Which was fair, seeing as she was. The number of times she'd thought about dropping him into the earth never to be seen again was... too many to count, really.

She clammed up as they approached the doors and a woman appeared from inside push them open.

"Welcome! You must be Mr. Cargill?" The woman's brown eyes slid Juniper's way. "And you must be Mia?"

She nodded. "Yes, ma'am." She offered a bright smile, which the woman returned.

"Please, follow me right this way. I've got everything set up to get your accounts squares away swiftly."

She swept an arm out and stepped to the side, holding the door open from them to come inside.

"Would you like anything to drink? We have water, or coffee, and a few types of Soda."

Juniper waited for the "adult" to answer first since she was playing the part of his granddaughter. Once he had replied she gave hers. "I would love a Soda, actually. Thank you!" She'd just sip at it, she didn't think her stomach could handle anything in it after a few weeks of not really eating a whole lot.

They were led to a spacious, well-lit office. It was snazzy, not like the cubicles you'd find in lesser banks. It was very clear that lots of money moved through this place often, and they liked to keep up appearances.

The woman, who introduced herself as Jen, left to go get drinks and Juniper sat in the comfy office chairs beside Simon. She was very aware of the camera pointed down at them, and so controlled her urge to look around and snoop. She needed to seem like being in a place like this was normal. Boring even. Her family came from money, after all.

"Are you doing okay grandpa? The walk wasn't too much, was it?" Appearances, appearances. Cameras in snazzy places often had recording equipment too. She chatted a bit more about boring things, nothing too specific until Jen came back and handed her a cold can of soda. "Thanks!"

She already knew she'd be leaving with that whole can. No fingerprints left at the scene.

"Alright, Mr. Cargill. I want to start off by saying thank you for choosing us for all of your banking and safekeeping needs. We greatly appreciate your patronage!"

Asskisser. Juniper thought, unable to stop herself. Her pleasant expression never shifted though.

"I noticed that your account is pretty much all set up. We just have a few documents for you to officially sign, and I will notarize them, and then we can head off to the vaults to squirrel away your..." Jen leafed through a stack of paperwork for a moment.

"...watch?" She read a bit more of the notes she had there. "Oh my, that is quite a piece you have. Vintage! It must be lovely."

She prattled on about a few more things, the weather, various offers the bank was running, interest rates on credit cards, ect... all the while sifting through papers to stamp and organize things. When she was done she slid a small stack across the desk toward him.

Juniper sipped her soda, letting the flavor wash over her tongue and gradually vanish down her throat.

"How old are you, Mia?" Jen asked while waiting for Simon to scratch his fake signature on stuff.

"17, Ma'am."

"Oh, I have a daughter your age! What school do you go to?"

"I'm homeschooled, Ma'am. My mother wasn't terribly impressed with the schools in the area and we couldn't find a good enough private Catholic school. She teaches me and my siblings instead."

"How interesting!" Jen smiled. A perfect customer service face. "My daughter attends Stuyvesant High School. Second most prestigious school in the city!" She puffed up in a prideful manner, a bit like a feathered bird what with all of the ruffles on the front of her blouse.

"That's lovely, Ma'am. I'm sure it's a great school."

Juniper absolutely made no mention that she was pretty sure she had been to at least one kegger at that school before, after hours, and that her daughter was probably one of the preppy girls there trying their hardest to black out as soon as possible.

... She thought it pretty loudly, though.

He just looked ahead and nodded at her response to his statement. She didn't know what his plans were. He like that. The way he got ahead in life was knowing other people's plans while they didn't know his.

He smiled kindly when Jen answered the door. He knew her name. She was thinking about it. She was nervous, after all, and going over how she might introduce herself in her head. There were a surprising number of professionals in customer service for whome customer service didn't come naturally to. He could spot them from a mile away. Most people could not. In fact, many people who really shone in such a role were nervous messes about it the whole time.

That was the case here. Not that it mattered. He nodded, and tipped his cap to her. "You would be right, my dear!" As they walked in, Jen silently cursed herself for not saying her name when she introduced herself. She would have to find a way to sneak her name in later.
"Coffee is fine for me. One sugar, one cream." He was a paying customer, after all. It was abnormal to turn down hospitality. In turn, a banker tending to the needs of her customer looked good getting them refreshments. It told her bosses that she took her job seriously.

He sat quietly, hands on his cane, as he waited for his drink to arrive, and for business to start. "Oh, I am fine. Thank you for asking, Mia. Such a dutiful Grand daughter." He smiled and nodded to Jen as he received his little foam coffee cup.

He smiled as Jen got the gears rolling, only giving Juniper a sidelong glance as she threw out her commentary, which was made slightly more humorous when Jen mentally referred to this as the asskissing stage. "Yes. It was my father's watch before it was my own. It's very precious to us. I feel the need to... squirrel it away." He smiled. Jen murdered herself in her head for using such a term, and for not remembering what they were placing.

He gave all of her metric meeting questions the right amount of consideration before turning her down on each one. She got to chatting with Juniper, and he gave the young woman a flat expression as she mentally found faults in things. Did she do that all of the time. Unhealthy.

"Ahem, well, It seems we may be pressed for time, Jen. I have an appointment in an hour and a half on the east side." Jen blanched a little bit, and nodded. He played the part of the customer whose help was overstaying their welcome just a little. It always lit a bit of a fire under them.

They were headed toward the vault within a minute. He leaned in to mutter. "No power cancelers, as far as I can tell... It won't matter as long as they don't post someone up next to the safe..." He nodded to Jen as she looked back. mind your own business. She did. "If they do, we plan to have them miss work that day. Keep it between us, though. Keith will likely kill them."

He took note of some of the typical things as they were let into the safe. Combinations, thoughts about security, those sort of things. If all went well, they would need none of it... But there was always a chance...

No power stealing creeps? Yes! She was more than happy to hear that, even if it wasn't a permanent thing. She'd had enough run-ins with nulls in her life than she cared for.

She didn't bother to vocalize her thoughts, though. He could just lift them from her mind anyway.

The idea of Keith being a cold-hearted killer still through her for a loop, honestly. It was weird going from a place where he was just a creepy abuser, to... something much worse. It helped to solidify how she had felt all those years ago before her power had set in. That if she hadn't done what he had asked she would have ended up dead. Apparently, her past self had been pretty on the mark.

Still, it did make her wonder other things. About how much her mom really knew, and how long he had been like that. How many people had he already killed? She zoned out for a tiny bit, reflecting back on the second year she had left home and how she had strongly considered driving back to visit him in prison and making sure he never got out herself.

... Maybe she should have tried to hype herself up into that idea some more.

With a blink she shook herself out of it and sipped at her can again. Jen had led them all the way back into the secure nest of the vault. It was huge. Bigger than any she had ever been in previously. She stopped before their assigned number, held out a key for them to take... which Juniper reached out to grab for her 'Grandpa'. She didn't pocket it though, just waited for him to direct her.

"You'll be able to come and go as you please after this! One of us will just have to let you into the vault. Oh, and there are always at least two guards in here for guest security. Hi Steve! Mark!"

Jen waved and shot a brilliant smile at a fit, well-maintained man in a suit just inside the vault's massive door. Mark got a smile, but not nearly as bright.

... Juniper tried to keep her thoughts to herself.

When directed she slid the key in and opened the safe, taking note of how thick the door was. She'd be able to get her arm through there no problem if she had to. Same with the heavy vault door when shut. If she stretched far enough she'd be able to pull herself through with a few fingertips to spare.

"Locker 221-B" He stated quietly, calmly, as he glanced toward the secured door. He dug through his own box, which the attendant had helpfully used their key to unlock with him. It needed two, after all. He scooped up his watch, and the pistol. Smirking a bit as Eli followed through on his first part of the plan.

The power went out. A small flashlight clicked on. "Ten seconds. Retrieve the bag. Hurry, now." The cameras would only be out for a short time while the backup generators got going.

He aimed the beam toward the desired locker to guide her.

It had been a week since their set up expedition, now it was go time. Everything had proceeded smoothly on the way in. Now, all they needed to do was gather the diamonds, and leave. That was Juniper's part.

"Is everything okay?! It's suddenly dark in here!" He called out as feebly as possible.

"Sorry sir! We'll have you out in a moment, just- oops!" He'd commanded the guard to drop the keys. They just needed that extra few seconds.

"Are we good to go?" He said as he turned back to Juniper.

A week passed in the blink of an eye. They were back in the vault, deep in the process of the actual heist, and she was... worried. The first part had gone off without a hitch, but she hadn't had to use her power yet.

... Of all the times for her power to start to give out!

Simon was aware of the trouble, she was sure. She hadn't vocalized it out loud but she had made sure to think about it once he was around. Everything kinda depended on her from this point on.

She nodded and then felt dumb for nodding in the dark. Juniper headed for the locker her pointed out with the lights. Her nerves almost got the better of her as she approached. Her palms felt sweaty. Normally this wasn't a big thing... but now? @#$%, she didn't know.

"Right... here goes." Taking a deep breath to calm herself and focus, she pressed her fingers forward into the metal door. It protested at first, almost like it was refusing to give way as her power flickered. She held her breath, sweat dripping from her brow, and then suddenly her hand popped on in. She snagged the bag full of diamonds with the utmost care, pulling it back out and carefully storing it away inside of her before she lost control of her phasing again.

... Hopefully, she could get it back out, now.

"We're good." She shifted, waiting for her collar to click back on and the uncomfortable feeling of something alien to settle in her gut.

The vault door started slowly swinging open only a moment later, and Juniper was standing dutifully at her Grandpa's side, holding onto one of his arms gently. She covered feeling absolutely sick to her stomach with as much of a worried expression as she could.

A few moments later they were walking back outside, shuffling away from the rest of the workers and patrons who had been in the bank. The poor managers were getting an ear full from wealthy patrons who weren't very happy.

Bee-beep

Juniper winced. Ah... there it was. Pain and discomfort erupted immediately, and she might have stumbled slightly before recovering. Nothing quite beat a punch to the gut from the inside.

At the end of the block, she could see the van Eli was waiting in, and her trepidation started to grow.

... Now they were getting into the messy parts. The dark parts.

"Are you sure you've got this?"

"It'll work. It has to." He muttered the second part under his breath as he waited for her to get done and the door to open.

"Oh, Thank the lord! It's dark in there with the lights off! I could fall!" People were always in a hurry to get you out of the door when they thought you might sue.

As they walked out, Simon felt her distress as the collar kicked back in. "He must be nearby. Hang in there kid." He spotted the van at the same time. Their plan was to have him drive them into an alleyway and do the deed. He'd even gone so far as to find out which alley and park nearby.

"I've got this handled."

He climbed into the car, sitting in the back. Eli looked back at them as he started the vehicle. He could feel the welling up of excitement He'd planned to shoot Simon first, and then he'd gotten permission to take his time with Juniper.

Like hell.

After a short conversation, he would drive off toward the deeper downtown areas. They wanted him to get clear before he did the deed. Simon looked to Juniper and gave a short nod.

They turned into the Alleyway. Eli was smiling. Simon could tell even though his back was to them. He would die smiling. They came to a stop in the alleyway, and Eli turned toward them. "Alright, let's step out and get those diamond out of you. You first!" Simon smiled and stepped out into the alleyway with Juniper.

Eli followed, pulling his gun as he did. "No need to bring them out, actually... Keith gave me permission to get them myself. Don't move, now, sweety. If I have to shoot you in the knees first, it will only make this messier than it needs to be. I think you'll find I can be quite... surgical when I need to be."

"You talk a lot, Eli." Simon turned, hands still in the pockets of his coat. Eli didn't even notice he'd left his cane behind.

"Now now, Mister Bier... No reason to be so bitter. For you, it's nothing personal. Just business." He aimed his gun at his former teacher.

To your head.

Eli was still grinning widely when he put the pistol to his own head. "Well then... Do it." Do it. BLAM!

God, that was satisfying. "We need to hurry." Simon quickly leaned down and dug out the controller for her collar, looking back and deactivating it. He didn't say a word about how he'd done what he'd just done. They were lucky that Keith had chosen a lacky who was so week willed, and prone to tunnel vision when he was excited, or he would have noticed the gun was aiming the wrong way when he fired.

Controller still clenched in his hand, he looked to Juni, and held out his hand for the diamonds. The tension of these sort of moments tended to be a lot lower when you knew for sure the other person wasn't thinking of screwing you over. He handed her the remote, and pulled a small revolver from his bag. The one he'd kept in the lockbox with the watch.

"I brought it for you. Keith doesn't know about it. Finish it, huh? You deserve the satisfaction even more than I do, Kid."

That completed, the telepath would tip his ballcap toward her, and get into the can to drive off with his diamonds.

Getting into that van felt like a death sentence, but since she didn't have any other options really, she had to do it. She slid in after Simon, settling herself on one of the back seats, and immediately curled in on herself. The pain was up there... not quite as bad as like... a kidney stone or a ruptured organ, but pretty high. Every bump in the road only made it worse, too.

As Eli drove and her anxiety rose, she uncurled in order to look around. She caught Simon's nod and grimaced. It was almost time.

When they pulled into the alley and stopped, she did as directed. Felt like puking as soon as her feet hit the ground again, but she managed to keep it all in. She supposed having a mostly empty stomach helped in that regard.

She paused two steps away from the van, turning back around the same time Eli pulled the gun.

... Ha. That was almost funny if this all didn't suck so much. Should she bother telling him it'd be a fool's errand trying to forcefully separate her from whatever diamonds were currently merged with her organs? Hope he liked useless liver gems.

She was too tired to respond to him at that point anyway. Not even when he called her Sweety and threatened her knees. She hazarded a glance at Simon though, maybe out of habit, since she was more or less useless right then.

"Now now, Mister Bier... No reason to be so bitter. For you, it's nothing personal. Just business."

That... almost made it sound like it was personal, for her. What had she ever done to piss this dude off?

Of course, she didn't have access like Simon to hearing the bits and pieces of information floating around Eli's head. Including the bit where Keith had asked him to make her suffer.

Even after all Simon had told her about Eli and all of the things she had heard first hand, she looked away when he pulled the trigger. She... still didn't like that. Didn't like seeing it. Hearing it. Being around it in general, but... oh well, she didn't really have a choice right now.

Eli's body fell to the pavement with a heavy thump, and only after Simon turned to her did she look back. She just would avoid looking down if she could. Her collar had beeped, signaling that it was off, and thus she was temporarily free.

She didn't waste any time focusing on reaching on into herself to dig the bag back out and missed all of the tension in the air. She didn't want to be pooping out diamonds for weeks, or god forbid having one get lodged somewhere.

She handed the bag to him and eyed the gun warily. She hesitated for a moment before ultimately taking it.

"Yeah... Thanks."

She was still standing there as he got back into the van and left, looking down at the gun with a frown on her lips.

"...Finish it, huh?"

The gun was heavy in the waistband of her jeans as she walked back to the place this had all started. Well… no, actually. This had all started years before, way back in Ohio in unfamiliar woods and with a heavy hand on her small shoulder.

This was years overdue.

Her dad had taught her how to shoot at a young age. Always be prepared, he had said. He’d meant for her to be prepared for the eventuality of some kind of war. A split between the people and the government, maybe, or maybe just when everything went to hell and resources were short. He hadn’t exactly been a drill sergeant… her daddy was a bit softer than that. He didn’t often raise his voice with a lady around unless another man was present and posed some perceived danger.

He’d taught her how to hold one in her small hands, how to aim without shaking, not to squint one eye when focusing. He’d taught her how to dismantle a lot of the guns he’d had. How to clean them and put them back together.

She was confident in her aim even if she hadn’t ever actually killed anyone or anything with a gun before. She was confident she could do it.

…. Right?

The walk there was quiet. Even the noise from the city seemed muted. People weren’t yelling as much. Cars weren’t honking. It kinda felt like she was marching toward the climactic end of a movie… the final confrontation. Only… she wasn’t a hero. She wasn’t swooping in to save someone or stop the city from being destroyed. She wasn’t even swooping in to save herself.

Yeah, she still had the collar on and her damn power shorted out before she could get it off… but that didn’t stop her from running, right? It was locked on, but off. All she needed to do was leave.

… But Simon’s damn words were ringing in her head.

You deserve the satisfaction more than I do, kid.

Did she? She supposed she did, but… there were others, too. She wasn’t the only one. Could she shoulder all of the pain of every other child who’d ever been ruined by that man and carry out their collective revenge for them? She… wasn’t sure. Maybe she had to though. She could recall, with vivid clarity she didn’t want or ask for, the face of a young boy who had committed suicide just before the proceedings three years back. He’d been one of the three to testify against Keith. He’d chosen to take himself out before he was forced to confront all of the horrible things that had happened to him again, in front of everyone.

Maybe she owed it to them, all of them, because she had been given a chance.

The pistol was warm, sweaty. Tucked up against her body as she moved, both determined and terrified to get back.

Her Uncle was waiting. Not for her though, for Eli. She could imagine him sitting and waiting, lounging in his chair with phone out, waiting for a call or a text. She knew James was supposed to be there, too. He was a problem, but she supposed it didn’t matter much as long as she could take out Keith first.

She paused at a crosswalk, running one hand through her short choppy hair.

Yeah. She supposed that’s what it really came down to then? There wasn't really an expectation of surviving this. She couldn’t go in assuming she’d come out breathing in the end. She was going into this knowing full well it was a suicide mission. She didn’t have her power to rely on faithfully to get her out of this one.

Her brows pinched, but she smiled ruefully through the fear that bloomed in her chest.

It wasn’t gonna be pretty, but at least if she could pull it off the world would be a slightly better place, right?

The light turned green.